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New Additions to Comics Plus: June 2025 | Rob’s Advisory

by | Jul 9, 2025 | Comic Spotlight, Comics Plus, Resources, Robs Advisory

Rob's Advisory picks for June 2025

Well, it was another month of terrific new additions to Comics Plus, and (like every month) I was blessed with another overabundance of amazing books to select from. Also as usual, I’ve got a lot to cover, but naturally I could never cover everything so there’s always plenty more where that came from.

Too. Much. Cool. Stuff…

So while I’ll certainly highlight some good ones, definitely don’t pass on the Honorable Mentions list below either. There’s lots to get excited about, so let’s get into it!

Middle Grade

Sunday Funday Wallace: A Treasury of Wallace the Brave Sunday Comics by Will Henry (Andrews McMeel)Young readers (and the young at heart) can rejoice once again, for the latest Wallace the Brave collection has arrived on our platform. If you’re not already familiar with this wonderfully charming little comic strip, think of it as the next generation of those newspaper funnies that (if you were anything like me) you promptly skipped right to every Sunday.

Set in the seemingly timeless fishing town of Snug Harbor, the everyday misadventures of neighborhood pals Wallace, Spud, Amelia, and Rose take on a grandeur that only the wild imagination of childhood could create. Imagine the frenetic creativity of Calvin & Hobbes blended with the precocious humor of Cul de Sac, crossed with the earnest heart of Peanuts, and perhaps you’ll be able to appreciate how Sunday Funday Wallace: A Treasury of Wallace the Brave Sunday Comics by Will Henry (Andrews McMeel) can feel like a true passing of the torch from those great Sunday classics. It’s really very funny, and oh so good.

My top pick goes to the latest work to highlight another important piece of comics history. Much like I’d recommended The Art of the Amazing Spider-Man (Dark Horse) back in February, The Marvel Comics Covers of Jack Kirby Volume 1 (Dark Horse) is another archival collection from the Silver Age, although “King” Kirby was so influential you could argue his style was what actually ushered the transition from the Golden Age in the first place. (Well, that and the #*(%!^& Comics Code, I guess).

The Marvel Comics Covers of Jack Kirby Volume 1 (Dark Horse)Kirby is truly one of the pillars of Golden and Silver Age art, and some of the most recognizable superheroes in the world first originated from his pen, and in many cases on the very covers appearing in this book. The Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Iron Man, Thor, and Sgt. Fury just to name a few. Oh yeah, and that iconic debut of Captain America punching out Adolf Hitler (before the US had actually entered WWII, mind you)… that was him too. And then, when the great Stan Lee suggested that Cap reemerge in the Silver Age, Mr. Kirby was responsible for those iconic covers as well (another treat you can find within).

Now admittedly, not everything from that era ages as gracefully as one might have wished, though you could argue the same could be said of Hal Foster, Milton Caniff, or any of the illustrators who also inspired Mr. Kirby in the first place. Whether you become his next diehard fan, or you’re happy to just “understand why others like him,” I still think it’s fair to say his artwork was absolutely one of the major factors that helped solidify the image of the superhero in the public consciousness… and for that reason alone is worth taking the time to absorb.

Now, after saying all that (and yes, truly meaning it), can I also admit I’ve never personally been a big fan of his art? *Gasp* blasphemy, I know… I just don’t love forced perspective drawings, so sue me. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the scope of his work, or how influential it was on everything to come after. Blasts from the past like this collection are truly worth the time to look back on, but so is exploring the myriad ways superheroes have evolved since then.

Teen & Young Adult

As is typically the case, teens had a bunch of great new titles to pick from on Comics Plus.

Too many, you ask? Never! Although our ever-present challenge to #ReadAllTheComics will always exceed my allotted space to actually talk about them here, so let me run through some quick highlights, and hopefully there will be some that jump out for you or your patrons.

Arcade Kings Vol. 1 by Dylan Burnett (Image Comics)First up is the extremely cool Arcade Kings Vol. 1 by Dylan Burnett (Image Comics), a manga-inspired love letter to the arcade fighting game. It combines the surreal craziness inherent in a Super Sentai story crossed with the “logic” of Street Fighter, and done with an Akira-inspired style. Some panels actually remind me of Katsuhiro Otomo, others of Pop Mhan, while plenty more are pure, original Dylan Burnett. Like I said, extremely cool.

I also quite enjoyed Kriss: The Gift of Wrath by Ted Naifeh and Warren Wucinich (Oni Press). I’m a sucker for grimdark fantasy stories, and this one comes off as quite Conan-esque. Very metal!

Another great indie read was the quirkily cute Bring Me the Head of Susan Lomond: A High School Story by Conner B. (Silver Sprocket). At its heart, it’s an LGBTQ high school romance, but one that seems to exist somewhere between the weirdness of Simpsons and the whimsy-goth of the Addams Family. This one’s definitely fun.

I also really liked Second Shift by Kit Anderson (Avery Hill), a smart sci-fi rumination exploring themes of loneliness, untrustworthy artificial intelligence, and systemic corporate slavery. Think 2001 meets High Life.

Savage Beard of She Dwarf by Kyle Latino (Oni Press)My top pick (for older teens) is a book that kept defying and/or exceeding my expectations from the very beginning all the way to the end. From its inception, the book seeks to confront a very old idea in fantasy literature that is often referenced but almost never shown… namely the idea that female dwarves typically sport beards just as long and luxurious as their male counterparts.

Rather than create yet another fantasy story that opts to overlook this little piece of Tolkienian trivia, Savage Beard of She Dwarf by Kyle Latino (Oni Press) instead leans into it so completely that it manages to quickly dissolve any inherent stigma that likely caused past creators to balk at the very idea. Subsequently, it proceeds to deliver on a truly epic action-adventure tale, and one that quite honestly is just friggin’ awesome! It’s like a Rankin/Bass cartoon got infused with some high octane anime-style energy, yet mixed with the occasional Ren & Stimpy vibe.

It’s exciting, and weird, and maybe a little gross, but the character designs (especially the strange monsters) are all so solidly original you’ll probably wish the whole thing really was animated. Who knows, maybe one day… if so, I’d watch it in a heartbeat!

Adult

What’s that? I didn’t spend nearly enough time last month talking about Millarworld – said no one (but especially my editor) ever? Still, I’d feel remiss if I didn’t at least point out the recent edition of Chrononauts Library Edition by Mark Millar, Eric Canete, and Sean Gordon Murphy (Dark Horse). It’s pure time travel sci-fi madness cranked all the way to 11… sort of like Rick and Morty crossed with Bill and Ted — if they were also billionaire tech bros, I suppose. Definitely not for everyone, but maybe it’s for you.

Moonshadow: The Definitive Edition--Expanded by J.M. DeMatteis and John J Muth, Kent Williams, and George Pratt (Dark Horse)I’ve been a fan of Fred Van Lente’s writing since his earliest indie books, and Murder Kingdom Vol. 1 by Van Lente, Becca Carey, and Chris Panda (Mad Cave) delivers yet another keenly cerebral story, this one tinged with a healthy dose of horror rooted in the super dark origins of many popular fairy tales. Think Happyland meets Dark Ride with a murder mystery twist!

The art! The art!

While there’s definitely lots more to say about it, I maintain Moonshadow: The Definitive Edition–Expanded by J.M. DeMatteis and John J Muth, Kent Williams, and George Pratt (Dark Horse) is worth checking out just for the art alone. Muth, Williams, and Pratt have long been among some of my favorite comics painters, and honestly, this book is just gorgeous.

Last of The Gladiators by James M. LaRossa Jr, Jonathan Vankin, and Giorgio Pontrelli (Dynamite)My top pick for mature readers is one I get the feeling won’t be your last time hearing about, if this is even the first you’re hearing about it. It feels like it’s been forever since we had a new “real life mafia memoir”, and while he was no Henry Hill, the biography Last of The Gladiators by James M. LaRossa Jr, Jonathan Vankin, and Giorgio Pontrelli (Dynamite) explores the career of infamous “lawyer to the mob” Jimmy LaRossa (through the eyes of his adoring son) and sports its fair share of Goodfellas-style insight into some of the biggest names in the history of organized crime.

Just being in the orbit of some of these men provides tons of fascinating insights, and while we clearly also have the author’s biases to consider, the book ultimately serves as a simple yet touching tribute from a son for his aging father, and seeks to honor their last precious years together — which were seemingly stolen from out of the jaws of fate. (I won’t spoil that part for you.)

Seriously… So. Much. Cool. Stuff!

Honorable Mentions

That was a lot of comics to cover, and yet still so many I didn’t get to. Remember, there’s always more to read every month on Comics Plus! With literally thousands of titles to choose from across a wide range of genres, I could keep writing forever.

Rob Randle: "Read all the comics!"Be sure to check in every month for more highlights, and browse our expanding list of past Rob’s Advisory selections. Until next month, here are some more honorable mentions that, mostly for space reasons, didn’t quite make my list, but you (and/or your readers) may also enjoy checking out:

Rob Randle is the Director of Content Management for LibraryPass, and has worked in and around the comic book industry in various capacities, including as a book reviewer for the NY Journal of Books, and a judge for various comic book industry awards—the 2006 Eisner Awards, among others. Before joining LibraryPass, he had been the Director of Publishing for iVerse Media LLC since 2010, and prior to that was a purchasing manager for Diamond Comic Distributors where he helped to manage the monthly Previews catalog for close to a decade starting in 2002. Additionally, Rob occasionally does freelance work as a comics creator, and is the author of the critically acclaimed graphic novel Serial Artist. Rob holds a B.A. of Illustration from the Maryland Institute, College of Art (MICA).

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